Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to join City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, stopped at the least 19 officers from breaking into the varsity as the gunman opened hearth for at least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not underneath an energetic menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, mentioned Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the fitting determination. It was a fallacious resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be done, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In keeping with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time finding keys that will let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two teachers have been killed.

Arredondo was not present among legislation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly title him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for remark by NBC News.

Because the community demands answers and pieces collectively a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as the police captain on the United Impartial Faculty District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the place of chief of police for the Uvalde college district, in line with the Uvalde Leader-Information.

The previous chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on costs of unlawfully carrying a gun in a bar and threatening an officer, the newspaper reported. 

Arredondo instructed the Chief-News that he was desirous to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he could be leading. 

“We need to make certain we are available wherever we are needed,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a profitable bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering almost 70 percent of the vote within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

The chief campaigned, largely door-to-door, on communication and outreach “to these in want,” the newspaper said. 

“I’m very excited, I am able to hit the bottom running. I have loads of concepts, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo instructed the outlet this month.

Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn onto the council on Tuesday, exactly one week after the Uvalde shooting.

Safia Samee Ali is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in Chicago.